1324 I Only Want You 22 (2/2)
”Sister Wang, what happened outside?”
”Were you frightened? It's nothing, that happens all the time. I've already gotten used to it,” said Madam Wang.
Upon hearing her words, An Xiaoning walked toward her with an umbrella in hand and asked, ”Sister Wang, what happened?”
Shaking her head, she said, ”It's hard to explain. Stop standing there. Go back in and get some rest. It'll stop soon.”
”Who hit her?” asked An Xiaoning, who could not sit back and do nothing now that she had found out about it.
”Her mother.”
”Why?”
”I'm not too sure either. Her mother doesn't let the neighbors meddle with their family affairs. No one has asked about it either. I really pity that child. Well, she was adopted after all.”
Her words had struck a sour note within An Xiaoning.
She could empathize with the adopted child.
Noticing that she seemed a little stunned, Madam Wang said, ”Don't just stand here. It's raining heavily outside. Hurry and go back in. It's time for me to rest too.”
”Alright.”
The villagers were used to going to bed early, especially since it was also raining.
They dozed off early too.
An Xiaoning returned inside and explained the situation to Fan Shixin briefly. She then added, ”Madam Wang has returned to her room to sleep. I think I'm going to go take a look outside.”
Fan Shixin asked, ”Alright. Do you want me to go with you?”
Shaking her head, An Xiaoning said, ”I'll go by myself.”
In no time, Madam Wang turned off her lights.
As soon as An Xiaoning exited, she caught sight of a girl being tied to a tree with her head hung low.
Her long tresses covered her entire face.
She was drenched in rainwater and covered in blood. An Xiaoning could not help but find her pitiful.
The lights were shining brightly in front of the door. Are they afraid that no one will see them?
A middle-aged woman was standing in front of the girl with an umbrella and a thick wooden rod in hand. Despite knowing that An Xiaoning was watching her, she continued to beat her adopted daughter with the rod.
An Xiaoning stepped forward and barked, ”Stop it.”
The woman stopped and rebuked, ”You're the new tenant from next door, right? Mind your own business. This is my family's affair.”
”It's indeed your family matters, but you're disrupting my peace. Can you mellow down?”
The woman snapped in annoyance, ”This is my house. What has it got to do with you? Do you have any right to interfere?”
An Xiaoning said, ”I don't, but I'm just here to give you some advice. It's up to you to decide if you want to heed it or not. At the rate you're beating her, you'll end up killing her sooner or later. Look how thin she is. She must have been malnourished for an extended period of time. I really can't stand watching you abuse an innocent child. Just what is it that compelled you to be so violent and vicious with her?”
The woman hollered, ”You're just an outsider and yet you're poking your nose into my family's affair. So what if I beat her to death? I've been beating her for more than a decade and she's still alive. If you poke your nose into my business again, I'm going to beat you up too. Believe it or not! I'm being serious, I'm not joking!”